Playing House
by mew-tsubaki
Summary: Oneshot, post-ep12. *my 1st Free! fic* When Nagisa and Rei invite their senpai out for a weekend, Haruka and Makoto have a unique explanation for saying no. *Can be read with slash goggles on, but is simply ISC feels.


**Playing House**

A Free! oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The _Free!_ characters belong to Oji Koji-sensei, not to me. As much I ship ALL the slash, I like the platonic feels, too. :3 Read, review, and enjoy!

- ^-^3

"Rei-chan, Rei-chan!"

Rei held his mobile away from his ear and winced. Once Nagisa calmed down, Rei dared to speak into his cell. "Nagisa-kun, take a breath and don't shout in my ear again."

He could almost picture Nagisa's smile on the other end of the line. "Guess what, guess what?"

"You know I don't like to guess. What now?"

"There's a travelling carnival coming to town! They've got all the best sweets, awesome games—but, best of all, they're bringing small sea animals!"

"Really? That's unusual. A petting zoo is one thing. But aquatic creatures…"

"I know, right? It's free to get in, so I thought we would all go together—you, me, Haru-chan, and Mako-chan."

"Haruka-senpai probably _would_ enjoy this kind of thing…"

"Exactly!"

"Well, then, let's call them and see if they're free."

Nagisa paused. "Actually, I think we should surprise them. Specifically, Haru-chan."

Rei had an idea why. "Because of everything that's happened with Rin-san?"

"Yeah. Things are better now, but Rin-chan is still…stubborn." The blond chuckled gently, weakly. "He's still getting used to hanging out with us again."

It wasn't right, Nagisa sounding defeated in the least bit. So despite the studying Rei had planned for the weekend, he silently groaned. "All right. We should call them in the morning. When is the carnival, by the way?"

"Just tomorrow and Sunday, uh, from nine to nine, I think the sign in the local mart said."

"All right."

"…"

Rei sighed but smiled. "Something else, Nagisa-kun?"

"If they don't want to go…"

"I'd still like to go. It's a good way to start the summer break."

"Ah! Thanks, Rei-chan! I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right. Good night, Nagisa-kun."

"Yup! 'Night!"

- ^-^3

When the morning came, Nagisa knew Rei would be surprised that he'd come to pick him up.

"Whatever happened to calling Haruka-senpai and Makoto-senpai first?" the taller boy asked. He yawned as Nagisa kicked off his shoes and strolled down the hall to barge into Rei's room.

"We'll just go pick them up," Nagisa insisted. He grabbed a shirt and jeans and tossed them to Rei. "Hurry up, Rei-chan!"

Luckily Rei didn't take long, and the boys were out of the Ryugazaki household and on the train to their friends' neighborhood in a matter of minutes.

On the way there, Nagisa thought that it'd be likely that they'd spend the whole day at the carnival, especially if Haruka got to eat some grilled mackerel. Nagisa hoped they'd have it.

Then he briefly thought of Makoto. Makoto would enjoy himself, too, but Nagisa knew well that Makoto would be happy so long as Haruka was happy. With them, the blond reasoned, it was always a case of two birds with one stone.

They got off at the next stop, and Nagisa led Rei to Makoto's since Rei still didn't exactly know the way. The Tachibana yard was fairly quiet.

"I wonder if no one's home?" Rei mused aloud.

"I doubt it," Nagisa remarked, and he knocked and called for Makoto.

Makoto appeared after a minute, surprised to see them. "Nagisa, Rei!"

"Yo!" The blond waved.

"What are you doing here? Please, come in."

"Ah, not today. We came to get you and Haru-chan. There's a carnival today and tomorrow, and there are sea animals to see."

"Really?" Makoto looked excited, but then his face fell slightly. "I can't, though… Haru could, if he wanted to. But I've got to stay home."

"Is something wrong, senpai?" Rei asked.

The brunette shook his head. "No, no, but my parents left for a weekend for two—a gift from family friends. I stayed home to look after Ran and Ren."

As soon as he said their names, Makoto's younger siblings appeared—one yanking on each of Haruka's arms. And they were bickering.

"Ran! Ren! What are you doing to Haru?"

"Haruka-nii promised to play with me!" Ran said, pulling big eyes on her big brother.

"_No_, Haruka-nii said he'd play a videogame with _me_," Ren stated, glaring at Ran.

Haruka said nothing, instead staring at Makoto.

Makoto understood right away, Nagisa saw. "Ran, Ren, let go of Haru. You're hurting his arms!"

Ran and Ren did as asked. Makoto softly scolded them as he led them back inside, so Nagisa took the chance to tell Haruka about their plans. Haruka said nothing, so Nagisa guessed that he was thinking it over.

When Makoto came back, he had to study Haruka's face for barely a moment before he gave his best friend an easy smile. "You don't have to, Haru, but thank you."

Nagisa stared at Makoto. "Eh?"

"Haru had offered earlier to spend the weekend helping me look after my brother and sister, and it seems that's what he's decided to do." He chuckled as Haruka turned away from them.

Nagisa frowned. "Aww… I thought for sure Haru-chan wouldn't pass this up."

"What about bringing Ran-chan and Ren-chan with us to the carnival?" Rei suggested.

Makoto shook his head. "My parents actually grounded them for fighting earlier in the week, so they're not even supposed to be asking Haru to play videogames with them. I said I'd stay in with them for the whole weekend. Sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for," Rei said.

Nagisa nodded. "Yeah. We'll bring you some souvenirs and snacks after, Mako-chan."

"Oh, don't worry about us," Makoto said. "We've got a full fridge, so Haru will be cooking."

Nagisa and Rei raised their eyebrows, and the blond wondered if Rei was thinking the same thing as him. "Really?"

"Yes. Enjoy the carnival, you two," the brunette said, but he was distracted as Haruka nodded to them and returned to the house. Makoto went in after him.

The remaining members of the Iwatobi Swim Club exchanged a look as they headed for the carnival. After a few moments, Nagisa dared to say it: "Haru-chan cooking, huh? It's almost like 'Haru-mama' and 'Mako-papa' are taking care of Ran and Ren!"

"Nagisa-kun!" Despite his disapproving tone, Rei couldn't keep a straight face, and Nagisa knew the same thought had occurred to him.

- ^-^3

The following evening, Makoto smiled to himself as he checked his email and saw a picture from Nagisa. Apparently Nagisa had tired out Rei, who'd had his face drawn on in marker while he slept. Rei's room looked a bit like a pigsty, too, with the game prizes they must've won and the souvenirs they bought. Nagisa was especially proud of the little plastic penguin, butterfly, whale, and dolphin figurines he'd found at a stand at the carnival. There was even a tiny shark, too.

"Makoto."

The club captain looked up and saw Haruka sticking his head into Makoto's room. "Ah, coming."

He left for the dining room, where Haruka had managed to get Ran and Ren to be good and work together to set the table. Makoto was impressed. He watched his siblings carefully.

"You two aren't arguing anymore?"

Ran and Ren nodded. Makoto smiled and went into the kitchen.

"Haru, whatever you did, thank you. Sometimes they listen, and sometimes they don't." He sniffed the air. "Wow! Smells good."

Haruka passed two dishes for Makoto to carry. He tried to duck his face, but Makoto could see the faint color in his cheeks. It made Makoto want to tease his friend.

"I didn't expect to enjoy so much of your cooking recently. It's nice."

They put the food on the table and returned to the kitchen for drinks.

Makoto wanted to say more, but he wasn't sure whether it would ruin the mood. He wanted to tell Haruka that things were definitely going to get better now that they'd had a breakthrough with Rin. He wanted to tell him that it would've been fine to have gone to the carnival with Nagisa and Rei. He wanted to tell him, too, that it was perfectly fine that Haruka had wanted to spend the weekend with Makoto as if nothing had changed or ever would change.

So, of course, they locked eyes, and Haruka understood everything and nearly smiled. It had all been conveyed.

But when Makoto wished to say something else, he was suddenly distracted by something he hadn't noticed before. "Ah, Haru, that apron…"

Haruka looked down as he removed the frilly pink thing and hung it on a drawer handle. "Sorry. It's your mom's. I had to borrow it." He looked at Makoto as if asking if he'd done something wrong.

Makoto could say nothing, and he did his best not to blush as he thought, amused, that Haruka would make a good wife someday.

…oh, boy. Now he wished they _had_ gone out with Nagisa and Rei…!

- ^-^3

**CUTE! XD My first **_**Free!**_** fic… :3 I'm fairly proud of it, because I was looking to get the perspectives of Rei, Nagisa, and Makoto sparked by an event (the carnival). There are a lot of things to consider after the relay, mainly how Rin fits in with them now. No way could they go from all that animosity to the way things used to be so easily, so this was a little insight into what the boys might do in the meantime. Plus I wanted to make a joke of Haruka cooking since we learn that from the animation guidebook…and I do ship Makoharu and Reigisa, so I wanted there to be those leanings—mainly the Haru-mama/Mako-papa joke! ;D AGH, must write more **_**Free!**_** fics!**

**Thanks for reading, and please review!**

**-mew-tsubaki -w-**


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